A Timber and Stone Family Home in Ancient Woodland in the Devon Countryside

A Paragraph 84 Family Home in Devon

Timbern - ‘of timber’ - is a unique countryside home set within Ancient Woodland in the Devon countryside. The client has lived on the site since birth, and this new house will become a low-impact, carbon-positive retreat for future generations.

Timber is central to the design both in name and materiality, linking the home to its Ancient Woodland surroundings while celebrating its aesthetic and environmental value.

Approach through trees to Timbern - a Paragraph 84 home by Studio Bark — Image by Studio Bark

The Site: Light and Dark

A playful contrast of light and dark defines the experience of Timbern. The approach begins through a shaded copse of coniferous trees. As the house nears, the woodland opens into a bright wildflower meadow, with views of the home revealed in the near distance.

From this entry, the house appears as a single-storey building with light-filled living spaces and woodland views. Journeying inside reveals a lower ground floor embedded into the sloping landscape, creating darker, more intimate spaces within.

Carefully positioned within the contours of the site, the house is designed to both preserve the sensitive woodland ecology and realise the client’s wish to live ‘in amongst the trees’. Its placement respects the land’s natural form, enhancing biodiversity while allowing the home to nest into its ancient surroundings.

Layout and Functionality

Inside, the interplay of light and dark continues. Shaded corridors and entrances transition into open, airy living areas, with dramatic ceiling heights and extensive glazing connecting the home to its natural surroundings.

The poetic living experience is underpinned by a practical layout, designed for accessibility and multi-generational living. The lower ground floor can be converted into a self-contained, wheelchair-accessible annexe, allowing for future-proofed living arrangements. Essential amenities are seamlessly integrated, including a garage, workshop, EV charging point, and solar battery storage.

Every room is carefully oriented to follow the sun’s path. Gentle morning light warms bedrooms and bathrooms, while southern exposure floods the kitchen and living spaces. Soft, woodland light filters into workspaces to create a calm, focused environment.

Timbern interior view by Studio Bark — Image by Studio Bark

Nurturing A Biodiverse Landscape

The landscape strategy supports both ecology and experience. A deliberate balance of light and shade enhances the sense of living within the woods, while also serving as an ecological buffer around protected habitats.

New wetland and marsh areas promote biodiversity, alongside extensive native tree planting. Deciduous trees contrast with darker conifers, carefully placed to enhance key views and improve habitat diversity.

With a focus on ecological responsibility, nature recovery, and land stewardship, the landscape strategy ensures this unique patch of land will remain a sanctuary for wildlife and future generations.

Timbern interior view by Studio Bark with view to garden — Image by Studio Bark

What Makes A Whole Life Zero Carbon Home?

Timbern is a Whole Life Zero Carbon (WLZC) home, meaning it will absorb more carbon than it emits over its lifetime, including construction, use, and deconstruction.

Detailed energy modelling ensures the building runs as efficiently as possible, while on-site renewable energy is generated via photovoltaic panels. The home is designed to operate as independently from the grid as possible.

Carbon impact is offset through on-site planting and habitat restoration, so that no external offsets are required. The result is a31% biodiversity net gain in habitats, and 17% net gain in hedgerows.

Studio Bark is deeply committed to ensuring all of our new buildings achieve Whole Life Zero Carbon or better. To support this goal, we developed SmallCarbon, our carbon counting tool funded by Innovate UK. SmallCarbon helps architects measure and reduce whole life carbon on projects - contributing to our mission to make Whole Life Zero Carbon more accessible across the built environment.

Read about Whole Life Zero Carbon.

A Hyper-Local Material Strategy

At Studio Bark, we use a materials hierarchy, prioritising natural, site-won, and local materials to reduce embodied carbon. Each project has a bespoke strategy that responds to its landscape, geology, and vernacular.

Timber is the defining material at Timbern, echoing both the surrounding Ancient Woodland and the area’s rich shipbuilding heritage. In contrast, stone grounds the building, referencing local geology and vernacular traditions. Used primarily in the lower sections, it provides a sense of permanence and weight, anchoring the home into the landscape beneath the lighter, timber-clad upper levels.

Though rooted in tradition, these materials are used in playful, contemporary ways to create contrast between light and dark, and articulate different spatial experiences throughout the home.

Elevations of Timbern by Studio Bark showing upper timber and lower stone — Image by Studio Bark

What is Paragraph 84?

Paragraph 84 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) supports the development of exceptional homes in isolated rural locations, where design and sustainability reach the highest standards.

Timbern was granted planning approval under Paragraph 84 in 2025.

Studio Bark specialises in Paragraph 84 homes, with several successful applications and built projects. Our research-led approach has helped shape best practice for truly sustainable rural homes.

Explore Studio Bark's Paragraph 84 research.

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